Expropriation of La Sapinière: the case before the Administrative Court this month

The Administrative Tribunal of Quebec will examine as of next Monday the case of the site of the former La Sapinière hotel in Val-David, the future of which is at the center of a major dispute.

It is a school project requiring expropriation which is at the heart of the dispute on which the Administrative Court will have to rule.

On the one hand, the municipality of Val-David chose the site of La Sapinière – a tourist jewel of the small town in the Laurentians closed in 2013 after more than 75 years of existence – for lack of a better alternative for the realization of a new school with 24 classes. On the other hand, the current owner of the premises, Diane Beaudry, has her own development project for the site that she acquired in the wake of the hotel’s closure, namely to build a resort with a spa there. and subsequently erect 72 short-term rental units.

“This is a project I had been working on since 2014. Imagine my surprise when the bailiff showed up at the door, shortly before the start of the work,” said Ms. Beaudry in an interview, for whom the situation is a real disaster.

According to her, the coexistence of the two projects is impossible, an opinion that the mayor of Val-David, Dominique Forget, does not share. “The school project would occupy only 14.5% of the entire area of ​​the property. It would be nice to have a spa in Val-David,” she adds, being of the opinion that only a partial expropriation would be necessary.

Ms. Beaudry who, at the insistence of the municipality would see no other solution than a total expropriation, retorts that “the mayor forgets to say that these 14.5% of the territory represent 50% of the building space” . “Just think of the noise and the coming and going of school buses, all of this near a place dedicated to calm and relaxation.”

Divided opinions

And the citizens in there? The former candidate for the municipal elections of November 7, Jean-Claude Rocheleau, who is also the former president of the Regroupement des citoyen de Val-David, campaigned against this school project on the La Sapinière site. . “Citizens are wondering a lot about how all this was done. It is an improvised file, with enormous consequences, with no regard for citizens’ wallets. How much is all this going to cost us?” asks Mr. Rocheleau.

Mayor Forget maintains that the majority of citizens approve of the project. “The proof is that we collected 55% of the votes in the last ballot.”

It should be noted that another motion is added to the one filed before the Administrative Tribunal of Quebec, namely a lawsuit for $5.4 million in damages brought by Ms. Beaudry against the elected officials of Val-David for the sums incurred in his project and his loss of income.